Dave Dravecky
Dave Dravecky’s ultimate victory transcended all others, for it was a triumph of heart. During 1988, his seventh big league season, Dravecky learned that he had a Desmoid tumor in his left arm, requiring surgical removal of half of the deltoid muscle. Dravecky resumed pitching in 1989 and thrilled a Candlestick Park crowd of 34,810 […]
Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert’s wide-ranging success is unique in the history of tennis: Top 10 ATP player including a career-high #4 ranking; elite coach of grand slam champions; author of the international best-seller Winning Ugly; and popular commentator on ESPN. In 1994 Gilbert began coaching Agassi who was struggling with a serious wrist injury and had dropped […]
Jason Kidd
Forged under the fiery tough-love tutelage of local point guard legend Gary Payton, Jason Kidd’s hall of fame basketball career began in Oakland under perhaps more scrutiny than any other prep star had ever seen up to that point. In the late eighties and early nineties, the local demand to see Kidd play forced little […]
Keena Turner
Keena Turner exemplified the 49ers’ dominance in the National Football League throughout the 1980s. He was a versatile, game-changing linebacker throughout his 11-year professional career. His impact was also felt off the field with the integrity, class, and commitment he demonstrated during and after his playing days. He played his entire professional football career with […]
Tara VanDerveer
The consummate teacher, yet always a student of the game, Tara VanDerveer has amassed one of the greatest careers in the history of college athletics. One of a handful of NCAA basketball coaches with more than 1,000 career wins, the legendary Stanford women’s basketball coach cemented her legacy as a pioneer, mentor, role model, and […]
Craig Morton
At the completion of his 1964 All America Season at Cal, Craig Morton held virtually every school record for passing. His then-record 36 touchdown passes, achieved in three seasons and in schedules shorter by one or two games, survived for 25 years after his graduation. In 1964, he won the Pop Warner Award as the […]
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King was not only the finest women’s player of her time—the winner of 39 grand slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles—she was also her sport’s inspirational leader off the court. She was the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association, a co-founder of World TeamTennis and a major influence in the formation of the […]
R. C. Owens
R. C. Owens had a productive NFL career, but is best remembered for one play, the “Alley Oop,” when he leaped high between defensive backs to catch this pass. The play was a natural for Owens, a college basketball player who led the nation with 27 rebounds a game one year. Owens caught 27 passes […]
Steve Negoesco
Steve Negoesco, who played (1947-51), and coached (1962-2000) soccer at the University of San Francisco, was one of the greatest of both. He was an All-American, the first from the West Coast, in 1948, and helped the Dons to a share of the National Championship in the 1949 season. The first Division I Coach to […]
Al Davis
As a coach first and then as the managing general partner, Al Davis turned the Oakland Raiders into one of the most successful franchises in professional football. Building on an unwavering philosophy that stressed a strong-armed quarterback, a powerful offensive line and a man-to-man defense, Davis’s teams played in five Super Bowls and, in an […]